ABSTRACT
The notion of contract is inseparable from any discussion of marriage, for marriage itself is defined in such terms. In pre-industrial society, as the family unit was both the unit of production and consumption, work activities and family life tended to be physically integrated, even if highly differentiated by role. Married couples, partly through increased geographical mobility, with separation from kin and long-standing social networks, and partly through changes in social values, have recognized that they are more dependent upon each other. The relationship between work and marriage contracts becomes even more problematic when both partners are employed outside the home. Lack of explicit agreement about the content and relationship between hidden work and marriage contracts may give rise to problems over the allocation of resources, particularly of time and commitment, to work and family respectively.
